


Holiday Cheer

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Episode: s01e10 In Excelsis Deo, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-11-17
Updated: 2005-11-17
Packaged: 2019-05-30 17:18:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15101384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: It's the happiest time of the year, but Josh can't seem to get into the holiday spirit.





	Holiday Cheer

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Kismet: Holiday Cheer**

**by:** MeganFitz 

**Character(s):** Josh and Donna  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna  
**Category(s):** Romance Comedy  
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** They aren't mine, I wish they were, but they aren't. Sniff Sniff  
**Summary:** It's the happiest time of the year, but Josh can't seem to get into the holiday spirit.  
**Author's Note:** This is an Alterative Universe story, (I've never written one before) The whole series takes place during the first and a little into the second session. Keep in mind its an AU so not everything will be perfect. This takes place during "In Excelsis Deo." Very dialogue heavy. 

Donna bounded down the hall after Josh. "Good morning, Sunshine." 

"Morning, Donna." 

"Today is going to be a great day; the holiday sprit will capture us all." 

"Sounds like an invasion," muttered Josh. 

"Be positive." 

"I am positive today is going to suck ass." 

Donna rolled her eyes at the Grinch, sure she had no real reason to be cheerful this year but she was running off a sugar high and two hours of sleep. "Now Josh I know you are racking your brain about what you can buy me for Christmas, so I prepared a list." 

Josh's mood improved slightly, his eye brows went up and a smirk formed on his face. "Of Christmas gift suggestions?" She handed him the list and responded, yes. He read off the list as they walked. "Ski-pants, ski-boots, ski-hat, ski-goggles, ski-gloves, ski-poles, I'm assuming you already have skis?" 

"Page two." 

"I see. Donna, I am not buying you a Christmas gift." 

This was the first time Josh saw the pout. "Why not?" 

"Because you aren't my assistant." 

"You _only_ think of me as an assistant." She put her hand to her chest and pretended to be insulted, but a small part of her really was. 

"Well, Donna, that's what you are." 

"Where are you going?" 

"To Leo's office." 

"For what?' 

"To talk about your Christmas gift." 

"Really?" Her smiled beamed and lit up the hallway, Josh almost hated to see it disappear. 

"No." 

"You'll think about the skis?" 

"Have a nice day." 

"You too," She smiled and walked back to her desk, early morning banter was quickly becoming on of her favorite activities. Mandy was yelling about Santa hat, didn't that woman do anything important around here? CJ was flustered that her Secret Service name was "Flamingo." Donna didn't blame her one bit. 

"Hi, Ms. Moss." Donna turned in her swivel chair to see two beaming Secret Service Agents. 

"Hi, Jackson. Hi Jefferson. So would you boys like your Christmas gift?" The men nodded. She produced a basket of gingerbread men all wearing dark suits and ear pieces. "Each one is personalized and looks like the agent. I spent two weeks working on them." She leaned in and so did the men, "The ones in the back aren't very fresh, but yours are." 

The men in black suits smiled at her and present her with her gift, a cook book with recipes highlighted. She laughed and pounced, "Gentleman, how do Secret Service name get picked?" 

"We make them up." 

"Is there anyway you can get one changed?" Donna smiled and opened her desk drawer to took out a pie. 

The men's eyes widened. "No." 

"Really, because CJ really doesn't like hers and" she pushed the pie over a little, "it would be wonderful if it could be changed." Donna pouted a little bit. "You know this pie is made with 5 different types of sugar." 

"I didn't even know there were that many." Jefferson awed. 

"Ms. Moss, aside from having an affair with Ron Butterfeild, I don't see how Ms. Cregg will get her named changed. We have neither the power nor authority to make such changed." Stated Jackson. 

Donna sighed, clearly defeated and hand over the pie anyway and wish the men a happy holidays. 

Contrary to her jovial mood the White House had a different feel. The halls were different, the air seemed to change, it was thicker and laced with tension. Something was going too happened. It might have only started out as two people knowing a secret but the rest could sense it. So Donna did what anyway does when they need answers to questions they don't have, she went to an assistant, THE assistant, Margaret. 

Josh entered his office to see Donna hanging up his phone, sitting at his desk with her feet up. 

"You shouldn't do that." Josh frowned. 

"What?" 

"Answer my phone." 

"Why not?" 

"It's beneath you." Josh stood in front of her, hoping this would be the cue she needed to get out of his chair. 

"But it isn't beneath me to answer CJ's phone." 

"No. Who was on the phone?" 

"Your mom, you really don't talk to her as much as you should." 

"Why should I, you call her three times a week and fill her in." 

"Yeah, but I'm not her child." 

"Gee, that's funny, that's my point too." 

Donna got up and returned Josh's chair. "What's happening with Leo?" 

Josh stopped, "How do you know about that?" 

"I know lots of things. Are you going to do anything about it?" 

"No." 

"No?" 

"No, there is a process…" 

"Josh, you have to do something, he's Leo." 

"I KNOW!" Josh's outburst startled her, and her reaction put him shamed him to his soul. They stood in silence. "I owe him everything.." 

"I know, Josh" Silence again. Josh had been formulating a plan all day, but he was a predictable man. "Don't do it." 

"Do what?' 

"Don't go to Laurie." 

"Why not?" 

Donna walked out of the door, "Because it is beneath you." 

The next day a box of Godiva appeared on all the assistants desks, Josh Lyman was hailed as a god from the ladies and an asshole from their bosses. 

Donna talking to CJ about the hate crime language when the natural force Mandy swept into CJ's office and made a great proclamation, "Josh wants to get back together with me." 

"What?" CJ manages to say with as much horror and confusion as Donna was feeling. 

"I can tell, he was flirting with me at the bookstore, which I am still pissed the President wouldn't let me take some reporters." 

"We know." CJ stated flatly, but she followed up with a question, "how do you know he wanted to get back together?" 

"Oh, I know. I can't say I didn't see it coming I mean we were great in bed." 

"Oh god, you aren't going to tell me about the sexual prowess of Josh Lyman are you?" CJ's eyes widened. 

"He is amazing." 

"I really don't want to hear it." CJ shook her head. 

"The things he can do with his…" 

CJ covered her ears, "LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA..." 

"FIVE TIMES!" 

"LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA. IS it over yet Donna?" 

"Yeah." Donna frowned. "What proof do you have?" 

"He gave me a box of Godiva, because he knows it my favorite." 

"It's Godiva. Its everyone's favorite.." Donna sighed. 

"And he gave me this great scarf because he knows how much I love them." Mandy produced the baby blue scarf, silk and lightly beaded flowers adorned the ends. CJ sighed echoed Donna's as she produced a same scarf in green from her desk. "He bought one for Mrs. Langingham and Dr. Bartlett, do you think he wants to get back together with them?" 

Mandy turned and huffed out of the building. "Serves her right for hitting on your man, and focusing on only trivial crap around here," Donna smirked. 

"You really don't like her do you." 

"No I really don't." 

The day passed, events came and went, after watching a children's choir sing "little drummer Boy" Donna found herself lingering near Josh's door. Ginger was holding a box nicely wrapped. "I don't want it, Ginger, throw it out." 

"But is from Teresa, she has great taste." 

"Then you keep it." 

"But what if it's gross?" 

"Then throw it out. Drive safely." 

"Thanks, Josh, happy holidays." Ginger gave Donna a hug and left. 

Donna sat in one of the extra chairs. "Hi." 

Josh turned his attention to some files and didn't look up at her, "You were right." 

"You are admitting you were wrong about something?" 

"No, but I am admitting that you were right. Laurie was a mistake." 

"I know. Did you apologize?" 

"Is a two pound box of Godiva a good apology?" 

"Maybe, it depends on what you said." 

"I'll send flowers too." Josh frowned. 

A quick change of conversation clearly needed, "Mandy wants to get back together with you." Josh looked up from his file, revolted. Donna felt like she was in high school again. "She said you are like an artist in bed and you are truly gifted." 

Josh snorted, "It's hard to make a masterpiece with cracked plaster." Then he froze and Donna smirked. "Oh my god, that was so rude!" He rubbed his head for a few minutes, "Why would you tell me something like that?" 

"To give you the heads up," she shrugged, mostly she wanted to see if anything Mandy said was true. It was. "What are your plans for the holiday?" 

"I am working, you?" 

"Me too." 

"Donna, I am Jewish, I have an excuse, what's yours?" 

"Leo's in trouble hence I need to work." 

"You answer phones, I think you can take the day off." He tried to joke, but it just offended her. 

"When I do my job right, you should never know what it is." She answered mysteriously. 

"So that's why aren't you going home, tomorrow is a big holiday for Protestants, isn't it?" 

Donna face turned icy, "Who's Teresa?" 

"I don't want to talk about it." 

"Well, I don't want to talk about my family." They sat in silence for a few minutes. Donna queen of random comments struck again, "Hey, tomorrow you want to make snowmen and put then in the press seats?" 

He stared at her blankly, "Yes, yes I do." He was just as shocked he said it as she was. Mostly because it wasn't even something he considered doing until she suggested it. 

"Really?" 

"Yeah and we should take a picture." 

"Really?" Her smile made him weak, nearly quiver, and he knew he was hooked and would do anything to see that smile again. 

"Yeah." 

Donna pulled out a box, neatly wrapped in silver paper, "Do you want your Chanukah gift?" 

His dimpled flashed and his eyes grew wide, "you got me a gift." He reached and started to slash the paper, "you know I should get eight gifts." 

"I did." 

He opened the box, the dimpled stayed but the smile changed, "it's a coffee mug, with my name on it. Josh Lyman Chief of Staff." 

"Do you know why I gave that to you?" 

"So I couldn't give it away?" 

"Yep." 

He pulled out the small envelope inside the mug, "and a Starbucks gift card." 

"Its good for seven Venti coffees and seven sugar cookies. See eight gifts, but of course you could buy a salad once and a while too. What? I worry." 

He smiled at the fact she worried, "Do you want your gift?" 

"You got me a gift?" 

"Yeah and I should be really pissed off at you because of it." 

"How is it my fault YOU bought me a gift." 

"Because you did that pout thing with your face. Anyway it's your fault I spent nearly two thousand dollars on gifts for a holiday I don't even celebrate." 

"I do hope you plan on explaining yourself." 

"Well I was walking around the bookstore, staring at books I would never read and listening to Mandy gripe about the lack of reporters and I saw something and bought it. But then I realized I couldn't possibly give it to you because you aren't my assistant and it might look, I don't know, weird, so I had to stop off and buy other gifts too. But I couldn't just buy the assistant things so I had buy stuff for the other women. Now Mandy wants to do me and Toby and Sam want to kill me because the gifts I gave their assistants are better then what they gave them. So I had to give the guys something cool too. So two thousand dollar's later, I am loved and hated at the same time." 

"Uh huh." Donna looked unimpressed. 

"Here's Baxter's gift." He handed her a small box with a laser pointer and some cat treats, "Oddly enough I bought this like two weeks ago and I spent many nights wondering why I bought a cat a present. The laser pointer I heard cats like to chase the little dot around. The treats I got because the cat in the commercial looked like Baxter and so I assumed that he would like it. I know there is no logic at all to that statement but still." 

Donna's smile made the room glow more then the thousands of tiny Christmas lights. "Thank you, I am sure he will love it. Can I have my gift now?" 

Josh pulled open a desk draw and hands her a book. _Heinrich Breckengruber on The Art and Artistry of Alpine Skiing._ "Um I wrote a note in it so you can't return it." Donna opened the cover and started to read. "Don't get emotional. Donna, don't get...you know, try and maintain some sort of..." She stood up and wrapped her arms around him with tears filling her eyes. 

"You spend most of your time being...you know, you, and then you write something like this to me. Thank you." She placed her head on his shoulders. 

"I meant it." 

"Skis would have killed you?" 

"Yes." 


End file.
